THREE MORE ’FLU CASES

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 632, 8 April 1929, Page 1

THREE MORE ’FLU CASES

Two Officers of Maui Pomare NURSE ALSO NOW A PATIENT TWO officers on the Maui Pomare have now contracted influenza, making a total of 25 men under treatment. In addition, one of the nurses who tended the crew on board the vessel developed influenza yesterday and is also a patient at “Cintra.”

rpHE nurse was the first to be called in to attend to the cases on board the vessel, and it Is thought that Infection resulted through her having to work in the cramped and insufficiently ventilated quarters in which the crew had to be accommodated. This morning it was reported that the condition of the worst case, a Niue Islander, was fairly serious. The remaining cases are comparatively mild and are progressing satisfactorily. It is considered that, with the better treatment available at “Cintra,” the men should make a good recovery. IDEAL HOSPITAL STRICKEN CREW IS WELL TREATED CONDITIONS AT “CINTRA” Black fuzzy hair and only the very tips of their brown noses, in marked contrast to the snowy whiteness of the hospital sheets, is about all that can be seen of most of the influenza-stricken Niue Islanders now being treated at “Cintra.” QNLY those whose condition has been diagnosed as mild evinced any interest in a Sun man who viewed them this morning through the windows of the temporary hospital. Apparently they were quite contented with their lot. Wide and decidedly genial grins opened up their dusky faces as one caught for a moment the flash of gleaming teeth before they turned and nestled still deeper into the white sheets. Others who, in the vernacular of the native, were “plenty sick,” lay very still gazing with the apathy that only a stricken islander can show through the wide windows of “Cintra” that open out to the sea. On bright days the view from the windows of the large drawing-room overlooking the harbour is magnificent. Already improvement is noticed in the condition of the Islanders following their removal from the cramped quarters of their ship to the brighter surroundings at the home of the late Sir Arthur Myers, where the high-ceilinged and well-ventilated rooms are almost ideal for the purpose. Including the nurse, who tended them on the Maui Pomare, and who has now developed the symptoms, and two officers of the vessel, 26 patients are now being treated at the tem-

porary hospital, the Europeans being accommodated in separate rooms. GRATEFUL PATIENTS Seven nurses under Sister Belton are employed. and have quickly settled down to work in the hastilyimprovised hospital. “They are very good patients,** the matron told the Sun representative, “and are very grateful for anything that is done for them.” Certainly they are receiving the best of treatment, and it will not be for want of care and treatment if they are not able to rejoin their ship withiu a short while. The food and medical treatment available is the same as would be obtained at the Public Hospital. Everything possible is being done for the men and the knowledge of this has raised their spirits considerably. Bright Auckland sunshine is all that is wanted now' to complete the cure. THE SICK ISLANDERS ARE TAKEN ASHORE